Karyn Gerard, you are the winner of To Tempt a Rogue! Please send us your snail mail info at Riskies AT yahoo.com…

I’m in the middle of a two week writer’s challenge with my local writing buddies. Unlike National Novel Writing Month, which has a 50,000 word goal, or Book in a Week, we set our own individual goals. It could be a word count, it could be dedicating a certain number of hours per day to writing, or it could be something specific like finishing an outline. We email back and forth with our daily goals and progress, pulling out cyber-champagne or wet noodles as needed.

It’s going well, despite the several snow days we’ve had. Although we’ve had to deal with our beloved offspring more than we planned, all of us have soldiered on and gotten more done than we would have otherwise.

The idea of group challenges isn’t unique to writing. I haven’t done Weight Watchers but I think they use the same concept. My husband is making continued progress on his stroke recovery through a group water exercise class at the YMCA.

I think there are at least two reasons that this sort of group challenge can work.

1. Accountability. It helps to declare a goal and have friends who will know if you achieved it, or at least gave it a good shot.
2. Camaraderie. It’s great to have someone to bitch to when it gets difficult, to share tips and tricks and to celebrate achievements.

What do my writer buddies and I get out of it? Increased productivity and bragging rights. Oh yeah, Mimosas and cake at our next meeting. 🙂

Do you participate in any group activities or challenges? Do you feel you get a boost out of them?
Elena

The winner of a copy of Julia Justiss’s new release is–Dee! Congrats, and please send us your snail mail info at Riskies AT yahoo.com

How is everyone’s Tuesday going?? Around here it is cold and very, very white. A big snow/ice storm moved in last night, and this morning I had to put on my coat and snow boots to dig my poodle out of a snow bank (she loves to run and roll in the snow, and get so covered she looks like a little icicle!). Now that I’m back inside and cozy with a cup of tea, I remembered that it is Tuesday and my Risky day. Here is a bit about what’s going on this Tuesday:

1) A new cover! This is for my Harlequin Historical “Undone” story, out in April. Set in 1922, it’s a brand-new time period for me, full of beaded gowns, champagne, and fabulous cars, where the heroine uses a Gatsby-esque masked ball to convince the man she’s always loved they’re perfect for each other…

2) I tried to find something relevant to the Regency anniversary, and discovered that on this day in 1814 Byron’s poem “The Corsair” sold out its entire print run of 10,000 in one day in London! The third of 6 “Turkish Tales,” it has a typically Romantic exotic setting in Turkish harems and shipwrecks.

It also served as inspiration to a ballet still performed today, Le Corsaire, which had its premier in Paris on January 23, 1856 with music by Adolphe Adam…

3) February 1 is also the anniversary of a non-Regency event, Elizabeth I signing the death warrant of Mary Queen of Scots in 1587, after a captivity of over 20 years. I’m knee-deep in Mary history at the moment with my WIP (though my story takes place much earlier, soon after Mary’s return to Scotland from France. But I can see the beginning of the slippery slope for her…)

4) The opera La Boheme also had its premier on this day, in Turin in 1896, a performance conducted by a young Toscanini. This is one of my favorite operas, and I just popped in the CD of the new Anna Netrebko version to listen to while I write…

5) And, just for fun, some of the costumes of Downton Abbey! I would kill for some of those hats. What did you think of Sunday’s finale???

So, in summary, covers, 1920s, Byron, ballet, Mary Queen of Scots, La Boheme, Downton Abbey, snow (lots and lots of snow). What do you think of any/all of these??